Tools and resources

Greenhealth Cost of Ownership toolkit

• Cost of Ownership
• Toolkit
• Sustainable procurement

The Greehealth Cost of Ownership Calculator is designed to support looking at costs beyond the price tag, to evaluate hidden expenses, such as energy and waste costs, and other operational costs of using a product allowing more informed decision-making based on the full costs to an organization. Below you will find the calculator as well as helpful training and support materials. For hospitals…

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Preventing Damage to Environment from Pharmaceuticals

• Guide

The huge quantities of medicines ending up as waste or in aquatic systems are a major environmental health issue. The increasing documentation of low dose effects makes pharmaceuticals a priorityarea  from an environmental health perspective.

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EPA Hazardous Waste page

• Waste

Simply defined, a hazardous waste is a waste with properties that make it dangerous or capable of having a harmful effect on human health or the environment. Hazardous waste is generated from many sources, ranging from industrial manufacturing process wastes to batteries and may come in many forms, including liquids, solids gases, and sludges. EPA developed a regulatory definition and process…

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Gundersen Lutheran’s Chemo Waste Separation Poster

• Waste
• Gundersen

A visual guide to Gundersen Lutheran's waste separation process.

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Transportation: Supply Chain Options to Reduce the Impacts from Freight

• EPP
• EPP Resource

Supply Chain Options to Reduce the Impacts from Freight Purchasing Guidance - Specs/RFP Questions to ask Freight Carriers to Reduce Fuel Emissions Hospital/GPO: Consider the resource above when purchasing distribution services and other contracts where products or services are delivered to hospitals. EPA's SmartWay Program provides an opportunity for hospitals, who ship and receive items…

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Integrating sustainability requirements into health care food service contracting

• Food
• Food Service

(Health Care Without Harm) There are many opportunities for hospitals to improve patient safety, worker safety, and the overall health of communities and the environment via their food service operations. By implementing environmentally preferable purchasing and other operational and maintenance strategies in food service, hospitals can help to reduce patient, worker and community exposure to…

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Composting: Frequently asked questions

• Waste
• Compost
• Composting
• food waste
• Frequently asked questions

What is composting? Compost is created from the decomposition of landscape and food wastes. In a finished product, it is a dark, crumbly and earthy-smelling material that appears similar to soil. Composting provides institutions with a method to dispose of a large portion of these waste streams in a way that benefits their bottom line and the environment. By composting, an institution avoids…

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How your state regulates red bag waste

• Waste
• Medical Waste

Regulated medical waste (RMW) is regulated at the state level, with each state defining what material is legally considered to be RMW (also called infectious waste, biohazardous waste or special medical waste (depending on the state) within its borders. The state regulation also typically lays out the appropriate or acceptable treatment or disinfection methods for different classes of medical…

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Hazardous waste characterization

• Waste
• Medical Waste
• Hazardous and universal waste
• Guide

Framework for the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act It is important to know the correct classification of all of the organization's waste, as different sets of rules will apply to the facility depending on the total amounts of each type of hazardous waste generated per year. Large quantity generators (LQGs) operate under more stringent rules and more comprehensive reporting requirements…

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Darthmouth-Hitchcock: Less waste poster

• Climate and Health
• Less Waste
• Poster

Sample poster from Dartmouth-Hitchcock made with a customizable template to raise awareness around less waste.    

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